Graphic Arts

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From Black Flag to Charles Manson, Raymond Pettibon's New Museum Retrospective Has Something for Everyone. No Title (They are innocent…), ca. 1960s/2000s.

Crayon and pencil on paper, 8 1/2 x 11 in (21.6 x 27.9 cm). Courtesy David Zwirner, New York In the first half of his life alone, Raymond Pettibon has produced an estimated 20,000 works. And, although an artist’s prolificacy can sometimes evoke the question of quality versus quantity, his use of culturally relevant text alongside often politically-charged visuals coalesces into a larger narrative.

Together, it suggests that what really matters is the message. In his retrospective, Raymond Pettibon: A Pen of All Work, currently on view at the New Museum, the range of work on display is tantalizingly diverse, from monochromatic pulp zines from 70s Los Angeles’ underground punk scene to his larger, vibrant paintings of the late 90s and 2000s.
15 Creepy Vintage Valentines. Name Every Shade of the Rainbow With This 'Color Thesaurus'

23 91ShareNew Can’t differentiate cobalt from azure or cerulean, but not satisfied with just calling something "blue"?

Instead of choosing a word at random, writers and anyone else looking to expand their color vocabulary can now reference Ingrid Sundberg’s "Color Thesaurus.
" While working on a fantasy novel, the writer and children’s book illustrator found herself struggling to describe the images in the book as vividly as she would have liked, according the The Independent. Looking to spice up her prose, Sundberg began to compile a personal "thesaurus" of color names by pulling from sources all around her. "I love to stop in the paint section of a hardware store and find new names for red or white or yellow," the author writes on her website. Her guides have proven useful to more than just authors.
What Classic Literature Looks Like Without the Words. 3774 11ShareNew Here’s some decor for grammar nerds: Between the Words, a project by Chicago-based artist and web developer Nicholas Rougeux, visualizes Moby Dick, Peter Pan, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (above), and other classic texts through their punctuation.

In Rougeux’s posters, every comma, apostrophe, dash, question mark, and exclamation point (or other punctuation mark) used in each work spirals around a small illustration from the book. The strings of punctuation are separated by Roman numerals denoting the chapters. The designs evoke the rhythm and cadence of the texts in the abstract, revealing the authors’ predilections for endless dialogue or numerous dashes. All the classic texts used are public domain works taken from Project Gutenberg. Posters cost between about $5 and $28, depending on the size.
Prints of darkness: macabre vintage posters – in pictures. Illustrations Showing The Ugly Truth Of Today's World. Art expresses ideas in thought-provoking and original ways.

It captures our attention in an instant and inspires us to take action. Illustrator and animator, Steve Cutts, is changing the way we think about society through art.
Bizarre BDSM Fetish Stamps Of Kyrgyzstan. A Fashionable Melange of English Words (1887. A Japanese woodcut by Kamekichi Tsunajima titled “Ryūkō eigo zukushi”, or “A Fashionable Melange of English Words”.

The print shows images of animals, activities and objects each with their Japanese and English names. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) some spelling mistakes have given rise to some interesting new activities such as “Refreshiug” and “Cuting Rice”, and the “Gaot”, “Hoise” and “Tea Po”. The introduction of activities (including the very Zen-like “Looking Moon”) give an interesting take on the often more object-orientated Western equivalents.
Stunning Vintage Illustrations of Don Quixote by Spanish Graphic Design Pioneer Roc Riera Rojas. Donating = loving Brain Pickings remains ad-free and takes hundreds of hours a month to research and write, and thousands of dollars to sustain.

If you find any joy and value in it, please consider becoming a Member and supporting with a recurring monthly donation of your choosing, between a cup of tea and a good dinner:
Creepy Russian Propaganda Posters. I've been hanging out over at English Russia a lot recently, and I came across an archive of Russian propaganda posters. I'd wager that Russia has historically been the world's most prolific producer of posters like this, so there's lots to choose from and cherry-pick when looking for creepy stuff. (Though not so creepy that I wouldn't consider framing some of them, if I could find high-res versions.) The translations come from the editors of English Russia, and may or may not be complete -- or completely accurate.

But what's amazing about these isn't the words!
17 Funniest and Mostly Useless Flyers. 10 Most Creative Tear-Off Ads. Weight Watchers helps its members adopt a healthier way of life through the supportive environment of group meetings.

The idea of losing weight together is connected in a simple yet elegant way with a tear-off poster layout everyone knows from supermarket blackboards. The outdoor advertisement titled "TOGETHER" was done by the Euro Rscg Group Switzerland advertising agency for the product Weight Loss Programme (brand: Weight Watchers) in Switzerland. It was released in July 2009. Great campaign to promote pet care in Poland. With a very limited budget, this agency had to promote The Walking Dead iPhone4s Give Away. Ismet Dural is a circumciser who owns a clinic. Creative and sexy ad of Che Magazine. Best job offer ever. This is a calendar designed to remind Waxhouse's clients and business partners, on a daily basis, of the company's mission to provide gentle and highly professional hair removal services. Tear-off ad for the Amputee Support Group. The Print Ad titled "Experts wanted!
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The First Ads for Famous Books. By Maria Popova Because even genius needs share of voice to succeed.

In Read Me: A Century of Classic American Book Advertisements (public library), New York Times book critic Dwight Garner offers “a visual survey of book advertisements, plucked from yellowing newspapers, journals and magazines large and small, from across the United States during the twentieth century” — more than 300 of them, to be precise, including some of modern history’s most beloved literary classics by favorite authors like Susan Sontag, Kurt Vonnegut, Joan Didion, Anaïs Nin, and Ray Bradbury. What emerges is a curious alternative history of literature and its parallel evolution alongside twentieth-century communication arts and advertising.